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Ah, Remember the Days
Of Budget Surpluses ...

Updated Aug. 29, 2001 12:01 a.m. ET

The tax man lightened his touch in all but eight states during the now-ended era of fat budgets.

Nationwide, state and local tax burdens fell an average of 4% to $111.70 per $1,000 of income from $116.71 between 1994 and 1998, according to a new study by the Washington State Department of Revenue. The 1998 state and local tax data are the most recent collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.